Love In Destin ✔

50 - wish you the best

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𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒂

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THE MUG OF coffee is hot as I hand it to Dad.

"Thank you," he says, blowing onto it before taking a sip.

The microwave beeps, and as I open it, the smell of mac n cheese and chicken wafts into the kitchen. I drop the plate in front of him, and he wastes no time digging into it as if he hasn't eaten for days.

He looks a little rough. His hair looks unbrushed, but he seems to have tried to fix it with his fingers instead. His clothes look old, with a hole or two in his sage green jacket, and he has stubble growing around.

He finally notices my staring. "Sorry," he says. "I haven't had a meal this good in days. How are you?"

I sit beside him, and he smells like soap and body odor. It's not bad; it's just the opposite of his sweet, strong scent, which he always had, and it makes me feel empty.

"I'm doing fine,"

"And school? Actually, what are you doing here in the first place?"

"Mom didn't tell you?"

"Shortcake, I haven't really been in contact with your mom,"

"I thought so," I sigh. "The house has been on sale because Mom couldn't pay the mortgage, so I had to come here while she handled things back home. I don't even know if the house has been sold or is still out on the market or what exactly she's been doing back in LA, gosh," I breathe out. "We had a fight,"

"Oh, shortcake, I'm sorry,"

"Are you Dad? Are you really? I haven't seen you in, like, what, three years now? What are you even doing in Destin?"

"I—"

"You think you can just show up at our doorstep, acting like everything is normal when it's not," my voice comes out shaky, and I fold my arms, looking anywhere but his brown eyes.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I am so sorry, Maya. I've been a terrible father, and frankly, I should've called, but your mother wouldn't let me, alright?" He extends his hand to touch me but then stops himself. "Look, before I stopped coming to see you, the product I had bought, the one I thought was gonna bring in the big bucks, was a fraud. Basically, I was played, and my company got sued. I lost a lot, Maya, and I  felt like a failure, but that wasn't going to stop me from seeing my baby girl, but your mom—"

"Mom?"

"Yes, your mom. I'm sorry you have to hear this, honey, but your mom wouldn't let me anywhere near you after that. I had made mistakes; I wasn't perfect, but I was still your father at the end of the day."

A furious wave crashes over me as I listen to his side of the story, and anger fires up my body. My hand digs deeper into the skin of my arms, and my mind runs wild with all sorts of questions.

"Your mom, she can be...," he shakes his head. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that I've come to see you." He finally touches my shoulder, and I turn to him. "I'm here now and wanna make things right between us. It's been long overdue,"

The warmth of his touch overwhelms me with a nostalgic feeling."I've missed you so much, you know," I express, tears sliding down my face.

"Me too, shortcake, me too," he wraps his big arms around me, and I cry into his chest.